Thanksgiving

The table is set to have dinner with our neighbors. We jokingly called it our first Block Party.....we are the only two houses on the block. I used the cross-stitch placemats my Nana made and got some new plates at Target...wish I had gotten more as I really like them. The gourds were grown in our garden.

We started the meal with margaritas on the west deck....it was sunny and 70 degrees!

The turkey is ready to be carved. Randy used the "Cooking for Engineers" classic roast turkey recipe. The unique thing about this recipe is that you roast the turkey upside down to cook the breasts at a slower rate. Starting breast side down gives the legs a head start on cooking. This is desirable because drumsticks and thighs need to be cooked to a higher temperature in order to remove any trace of pink flesh. The breast would become very dry if cooked to temperatures as high as the legs.
You also roast the turkey for 15 minutes on each side and then rotate it so it is breast side up for the last 30 minutes.

We had a delicious meal......mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry, acorn squash, carrots, green beans with bacon and onions and our neighbor's special southern dressing. Our neighbor also made a superb pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.

Randy made soup the next day.....got this whooper of a carrot out of the garden. We still have lots of carrots.

This is a bad iPhone photo of Randy and Cooper post-Thanksgiving meal. Yes, Cooper got some turkey too. Someone should tell him he is too big to be a lap dog.